Today's task was to help the Wild Windsor group prepare the ground ready for planting some tree whips in Sutherland Grange, a nature reserve and popular dog-walking spot in west Windsor. The group is keen to introduce more trees into the reserve. Georgeta, Paul and Sheila cycled from Maidenhead and Nic walked from home, to join 8 other volunteers at the site. After a comprehensive introduction to the area and task, we donned special green high vis jackets, and people were appointed to plant in 6 different areas in the reserve. The whips of 5 different tree species were handed out (Downy Birch, Field Maple, Rowan, Bird Cherry and Goat Willow), each specially selected for the ground conditions in the selected areas. We set to work in our appointed areas, slot-planting the whips and adding in stout bamboo canes and curly tree protectors to give them the best chance of survival. The trickiest bit was making sure the tree whips did not blow away in the windy conditions before we could plant them! At the end of this first session, we gathered together and replenished our energy levels with some chocolate lemon drizzle cake provided by Sheila. Then on to session 2!